


Dreams in Blue

by orphicsheep



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Adventure, Cupcakes, F/F, Falling In Love, First Kiss, First Love, One Shot Collection, Romance, Roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:02:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24357757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphicsheep/pseuds/orphicsheep
Summary: One-shot collection for Beaujester week prompts! Day 1: Cupcakes & Tea.
Relationships: Jester Lavorre/Beauregard Lionett
Kudos: 33
Collections: Emergency Beaujester Week





	Dreams in Blue

**Author's Note:**

> Might take awhile to finish because its exam season and I'm running out of energy but I'll do what I can, absolutely love these two. Day 1 Prompt: Cupcakes! Tags will be added as needed.

Beau was up by dawn, and out the door before the rest of the Nein had woken up, in search of a bakery. Not just any bakery: Jester's _favourite_ bakery. They were not often in Uthodorn, and Beau knew Jester would have stopped there already, if they weren't so busy. If they didn't have a mission. No time to waste, they'd said, but... well... they had all been drinking, last night, everyone except Caduceus and Jester, and Beau felt bad, that they were left out. They didn't say anything, but... she suspected they felt left out. And Beau should never have...

Another pang and her hand shot up to hold her head. The pain was... a lot. This whole week had been a lot.

But she was going to make things right.

Beau found the bakery and ordered a whole box of cupcakes, in every flavour they had in the cabinet, so it was a bright, colourful array. She even asked that a note be attached.

_For Jes, Love Beau._

After she had the baked goods in hand, she quickly made her way back to the tavern where they had rented a room. The Nein were camped out across it; they couldn't get individual rooms this time. Beau missed the Xhorhaus, missed it just being her and Jester, her roommate. Her best friend. It had been so long since she had a best friend.

She gingerly made her way across the room with its sleeping adventurers, setting down the box of cupcakes sealed with a pink ribbon next to a sleeping Jester, sprawled across her bedroll, tail coiled around one leg that stuck out from the blanket, the tip an upsidedown heart, and visible ear twitching, now and then, as she slept.

 _She must be dreaming,_ Beau thought. _She always does that when she's dreaming._

Then she shook her head. She shouldn't know that, should she? She definitely shouldn't be watching her sleep. She turned her head, going red, and felt even more embarassed for having looked away.

"There you are! I was wondering where you'd gone," Caduceus said, as he walked into the room holding two cups of tea.

Beau shushed him and gestured to their sleeping friends, and Caduceus nodded, pointing to his extra cup and the door. A clear invitation. Still, he asked out loud in a whisper: "Would you like some?" 

Beau considered him for a long moment through narrowed eyes before finally relenting. She nodded her head and got up, and he led her and out the door. They took a seat in the hall, on the floor, with their backs to the walls, legs crisscrossed like they were going to meditate.

"Are we going to meditate? Is this some Wildmother shit?" She asked, when Caduceus extended the extra tea cup and saucer to Beau. She took it, thanked him, drank some, scalded her tongue. It was way too hot to drink.

"There's no rush," Caduceus chided.

She had a feeling he wasn't just talking about the tea.

"How long have you been up?" She asked.

"I heard you leave, decided to get up. I figured you would all want something relaxing to wake up to, after last night."

"You mean... the drinking, right? You figured we'd all have hangovers?"

"Do you?"

Beau winced. "A little bit."

Caduceus nodded, extended a hand to Beau's forehead, and murmurred a few words.

Her headache vanished. Her throat felt less sore, mouth less dry. The tea was helping, too.

"Thanks, man."

"No problem!"

"I got cupcakes for breakfast! We could have them now, but... I'd rather wait until the others wake up."

Caduceus nodded.

"It's an interesting way to apologise."

"It's not an apology... what do I have to apologise for? It's just... I can't even call it a present, because they're for _everyone..."_

Caduceus gave her a skeptical look. He had a way of seeing through bullshit she would have respected if it didn't include seeing through hers.

"Last time it was Reani. This time... did you even know her name?"

"What? Oh. _Oh._ You mean the girl I kissed? Look, nothing happened! It was just a kiss! We had too much to drink!"

"If you don't want to make her jealous, you could have waited until she left."

"Why would I want to make Jester jealous? That's so stupid, I..."

"Love her."

"...I love her. Yeah. We're best friends."

"Best friends. Right."

"I've got her back, and she has mine."

"I sometimes wish I had a friend like that."

"You do! Don't you? I mean... everyone likes you, man! You make friends everywhere you go!"

The firbolg gave a shrug, sipped his tea. "Calliope won't stop teasing me because she thinks I'm dating Fjord."

"Wait. _Wait. You and_ _Fjord?_ " Beau repeated, unable to conceal her shock. Not because... it didn't make sense, the more she thought about it. They had gotten a lot closer ever since Fjord converted. Caduceus had even brought him back from the dead. It was just... she wasn't really paying attention, wasn't she? They've been fighting the undead, they've been fighting demons, they were stopping a war... they'd been busy. She hadn't noticed.

Maybe she was a bad friend. A terrible friend. She had gotten cupcakes for Jester, so part of her must have known that the way she'd treated her last night had hurt her, but... she didn't notice she was upset over that kiss. She just thought she felt left out, because everyone else was getting drunk and playing dumb games and making assholes of themselves, while she and Caduceus were dead sober and had to put up with it.

Hadn't she noticed the way Jester stormed off early, to go to bed before the rest of them? Hadn't she noticed Caduceus chase after her?

And yet she hadn't done _anything!_ She just kept drinking, and playing beerpong with Fjord and Caleb, and she'd let that girl sit on her knee, and... she didn't even know her name, did she? At least she'd genuinely liked Reani. She wasn't in love with her, no; she was already hopelessly in love with Jester, by that stage; but she liked Reani, she was fun to hang out with, and Jester liked Fjord, so that was never going to happen, and... and... maybe Caduceus liked him, too... did that mean she had to pine away over Jester forever? Until she was old and gray and _nobody_ wanted her? Was it wrong, or selifsh, to _want_ to be wanted? To have such low self-esteem you'd make out or go home with anyone who said you were hot? Just to _feel_ something, to feel wanted, when everyone you wanted... wants someone else?

She threw back her head and groaned. She had been so blind. At least Caduceus did not seem thrown by all the spiralling she was doing in front of him, a cup of chamomile tea still in hand.

"I've never had a relationship before. I've never wanted one. But I can see the appeal. I think I'm starting to see the appeal," he answered quietly. Beau scoffed. He was deflecting. She knew he was deflecting. She was the world class champion. But he was still gazing pointedly at her, over the top of his teacup. "If you like Jester... maybe you should tell her."

"What, just like that? Hey Jester, guess what! Remember all that time we've been braiding each other's hair and having sleepovers and gossiping about the rest of the Nein because we're best friends and that's what best friends do... the entire time I've been in love with you! I know you don't like me back, I know you don't even like girls, and I have just made every future interaction between us awkward as fuck and I should move out of your room and life immediately, I'm right ahead of you, which way's the door!"

Caduceus chuckled, eyes closed, shook his head.

"I think you'll feel better if you tell her the truth, that's all. But it's up to you whether or not you want to be honest with yourself." He uncrossed his legs and rose to his feet, taking up both their now empty teacups, just as the door swung open and a hastily dressed blue tiefling popped out.

Jester always did have perfect timing, huh?

"Oh, Beau! You bought cupcakes for me, didn't you?!" Jester shouted, after spying Beau on the floor. She ran over and threw her arms around Beau, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Yeah. Yeah, those are the kind you like, right?"

"They're perfect! Thank you so much!"

Instinctively, and to keep from falling over, Beau's hand connected with Jester's hip as she embraced her.

"It's nothing. We would've got them anyway, sooner or later. We would've made time. I just... everyone else was going on about how we would have to go straight to the teleportation circle, and I... just enjoy your cupcakes, okay?"

"You're the best!" Jester said, before pulling away, to look around them. Caduceus had already collected the teacups and was walking away, down the halls and towards the stairs. There was no one else in the hall. It was still pretty early. "Where's that girl you were with last night?" She asked, lowering her voice and talking behind her hand, as if anyone could overhear them here.

"...What?" Beau asked, a blush rising to her cheeks. She could barely remember last night, but apparently everyone could. "I wasn't... with... anyone, last night, Jester, I was so drunk Fjord and Caleb had to carry me to our room and I slept like the dead for eight hours straight."

"So you don't _really_ like her, right?" This was already the awkwardest interrogation Beau had ever endured and it had only just begun. She was still sitting on the floor, legs out, back against the wall, but now Jester was practically sitting in her lap.

"I don't... no, Jester, I don't know her. I was just being dumb."

"And you won't kiss her again, right?" 

Beau lifted her head to meet Jester's eyes, her own narrowing. Maybe Caduceus was right. Maybe she was jealous. But why would she be jealous, unless...?

"Why is this so important to you?"

"Because I want to be your best friend, not her, and if you're kissing her..."

"Jester, I don't care about her! You'll always be my best friend!" Beau reassured her. 

"Then why don't you kiss me, if it doesn't matter?"

 _"Jes,_ you don't have to joke..."

"You don't like me, do you?"

"You know I love you, Jes..."

"I love you, too, Beau."

"...Are you telling me you _want_ me to kiss you?"

"You're so dumb, Beau!" Jes said, bursting into laughter.

Beau had already loosely wrapped one arm around her waist, steadying her. The other hand shot up to her chin, tilted it up to face her. The tiefling went still, turned to ice. Come to think of it, she'd always run a little cold. The thought made Beau smirk. Or maybe it was just being so close. She was still weighing the pros and cons of kissing her best friend.

"No one's ever kissed me before. Not like, a _real kiss_ , you know? I thought the one with Fjord counted, but... he was just trying to save my life. It's not the same thing. Then I saw you last night kissing that girl, and... I got so mad, all I could think about was how much I wished I was really beautiful, like her, and I thought... well, I thought I was jealous, because I didn't look like her, then I talked to Caduceus, and... he asked if I was really jealous of her... or the way you looked at her. And the more I thought about it, the more I thought... maybe... I shouldn't put worms and spiders in her coat, like I'd planned. Maybe... I just wanted you to look at me the way you looked at her. Maybe I just wanted you to kiss me, the way you kissed her."

 _"Jester..."_ Beau murmurred, searching her eyes. She was so beautiful. If she were anyone else... maybe Beau would have been too distracted, by a bob of curly blue hair and violet eyes, curled horns and full lips, to get to know the woman behind that pretty face. A hand closed around her arms and her breath caught.

Before she could say another word Jester leaned forward, crooning her neck, so she could meet Beau's lips, and pull her into a kiss, another hand closing around her small round ears. Beau was surprised, for a moment, but quickly started kissing back, and Jester wound her tail around Beau's leg as Jes leaned in, pinning Beau against the corner where the floor met the wall. Beau eventually broke away, to catch her breath, and Jester jutted her forehead against Beau's, tenderly.

"God, you're so pretty," she hummed, licking her blue lips.

Beau barely held back a nervous, shaky laugh.

"That was... unexpected."

"So were the cupcakes. Come on, let's go try some!" Jested slid out from Beau's lap and up onto her feet, tail dancing back and forth, as she extended a hand to help the monk up. Beau was still recovering from shock, and only stumbled up and onto her feet with difficulty, even with Jester's help. Jester laced their fingers together, as if it meant nothing, and Beau couldn't stop staring at their joined hands, not budging an inch when Jester tried to pull her towards the door of their room. She hesitated, looking back.

"...Or would you like to try kissing some more?" She suggested, cocking one brow. "I would be okay with that."

Before Beau could answer, she had already moved in closer, sliding one hand up Beau's shirtfront, leaning in to kiss her again on the lips. For some reason, this activated Beau's fight or flight response, and life flooded back into her body. She jolted back, arms out, nearly throwing herself into the wall of the narrow hallway.

 _"Wow,_ okay! _Wow._ That's. Fast." She dipped her head, going red to the tips of her ears. "This is a public space, there are probably rules..."

"My mother's the Ruby of the Sea. Just 'coz I've never kissed anyone before doesn't mean I don't know how it works. I know a few other tricks, too..." she waggled her brows, suggestively. This was too much; Beau bluescreened. Jester really was a force of nature.

"Okay, okay, wow... this is happening _really_ fast, Jester. Can we just... slow down for a moment?" Beau asked, hands still extending out, to keep Jester at arm's reach. "Are you _sure_ you want to kiss me, and this isn't just because... you wanted to know what kissing felt like, and I happened to be awake?"

"I kissed you because I _wanted_ to kiss you _,_ Beau. You're my best friend," Jester insisted. Beau let her hands fall, but this time Jester didn't move closer. She wasn't backing down, either.

"You're my best friend, too! But I can't just kiss you for fun, like I kissed that other girl, or Keg, or Reani, because..." she dipped her head, ran a hand up the back of her own neck. "I think I've fallen in love with you."

Jester slowly edged forward, took up Beau's hand. Beau tensed, immediately. Jester was looking at her now with too much pity for her _not_ to be preparing a gentle rejection speech. "Well you could have just said so, you know."

"I didn't want you to think... we couldn't be friends, anymore, just because I have a dumb crush on you... I didn't want to make things weird... I know you don't feel the same way about me. I know you like Fjord. I just... you're my best friend in the world, Jester! I don't want to lose you."

Jester pulled back with a sigh, pursed her lips and closed her eyes, ordering her thoughts.

"Now, let's get some facts straight, here. I don't like Fjord. I liked _Oskar,_ and I got the two confused. The Traveller explained it to me. See, I went my whole life thinking that a tall, dark, handsome sailor was going to sweep me off my feet and take me away... like my mother and Babedon... only to realise that I didn't _need_ an excuse if I wanted to leave the Lavish Chateau, or Nicodranas! I could just walk out the door. Just like I don't _need_ Oskar to rescue me. I don't need _you_ to rescue me, either."

Beau nodded, sniffed. Gods, was she _really_ going to cry right now? Like this? It was embarassing. 

"And you're _not_ going to lose me, so don't cry, because you'd look really dumb crying just because a beautiful tiefling kissed you, and we can't let anyone think you're dumb, because you're not." Jester looked down at Beau thoughtfully, extended a hand to cup the side of her face and turn her head.

"You're so cool, Beau, and beautiful, and smart, and strong, and... you're the bravest person I know! There is _nothing_ you can't do! I've seen you punch ghosts, and tear the hearts out of demons! You're unstoppable! And I love you so much it _hurts_ when you're not around, just one bed over, or in the bedroll next to mine, and... I liked kissing you. I don't know if that's love-love, but... I am starting to realise that a lot of things I thought I knew about love were wrong, and... I'm happy to try and find out, if you are."

Beau looked down at their hands, fingers entwined, for a long moment. She bit at her lower lip, gaze shifting to the floor. She couldn't bring herself to meet Jester's eyes. "Do you really mean that?"

"Only if you want to."

"I want to."

 _"Perfect!"_ Jester leant in to kiss Beau on the cheek, just as the monk's eyes darted up, widening in surprise. "Now let's go have some cupcakes, and when we're done, we'll wake everyone else up." She said with a wink, letting go of Beau's hand before moving to open the door.

It took Beau a moment to collect herself before she gave a nod, pushed the weight of her body back onto her heels. "That sounds like a plan. You're on," she hummed, before heading through the door, which Jester pulled closed behind them, and through the maze of sleeping friends to break open a box of cupcakes.

Beau just hoped they'd taste even half as good as she felt right now. Her heart was soaring. There was so many things she wanted to say that she could barely say a word, as Jester handed her a black moss cupcake, lovingly iced. All she knew was that things were different, now, completely different, everything had changed after a few minutes in the corridor together, and yet... nothing had changed, really, as they picked apart cupcakes, even when Jester leant over to kiss the icing off her lips, and she felt her whole world shift out of focus.

She loved Jester, and Jester loved her, and nothing had changed, except they weren't afraid to say it anymore.


End file.
